


Dream SMP: a High School Musical AU

by saltedolives



Category: DreamSMP, Minecraft (Video Game), mcyt
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - High School, Behind the Scenes, Bonding, Dream Smp, Fluff, Hanging Out, Musical
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-14 15:01:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29297835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saltedolives/pseuds/saltedolives
Summary: Wilbur Soot, a high school student, has created a musical about the rise and fall of a revolutionary, fictional country named L'Manburg. With his family and friends, Wilbur works together with the school to create this high school musical, from auditioning to memorizing lines to stagecraft to music. And this musical may bring an unlikely group of students together to create something...great. Maybe it was meant to be!Stars the members of the Dream SMP. Contains some swearing.No MCYT shipping romantically, but SBI family dynamic as well as all the friendships’ll be there.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 33





	1. Chapter 1

The Recruiting pt. 1

On a breezy, sunny fall afternoon in the SBI household...

  
“WHOOOO!” The front door swung open precariously and with a slam as Wilbur strode into the house, clutching a packet of paper in his hand. His brown hair was frazzled, falling into his eyes, but it didn’t hide his enormous grin. Wilbur threw his worn backpack on the floor next to the couch and whipped his beanie off of his head, pumping his fists. He bounded up the stairs, skipping two steps at a time as he burst into his brother’s dark room.

“What the--” Wilbur’s brother looked away from his book.

  
“Techno! Techno, I got the musical approved by the principal!” Wilbur gasped, shaking the packet in his hand, now crumpled and sweaty from Wilbur’s excitement. Techno, who was laying down on his bed from reading, turned himself over. His long pink hair fell into his face. Techno huffed at his hair, blowing it out of his eyes. It didn’t work.

  
“Are you talking about that Hamilton fanfiction you were writing?” he drawled.

  
Wilbur beamed. “It’s so much more than that, but yeah,” he said. He took Techno’s desk chair, threw the dirty clothes on the chair into Techno’s face, and collapsed in the chair, spinning around.

  
“Hey!” Techno wrestled with the clothes, peeling a rumpled shirt off his face.

  
“This is just...It’s gonna be so good! This is my big break, Techno. This work is my magnum opus. I’m just so excited! I get to direct it, star in it, cast it…” Wilbur sighed.

  
“Good for you, man.” Techno stood up from the now-messy bed, book still in hand. He rubbed his eyes behind his glasses. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go read my book.” He made his way to the entrance of the room, stretching his neck.

  
“Yea...there’s just one thing.”

  
Techno turned around. Wilbur, still sitting in the chair, started fidgeting with the sleeves of his hoodie. “Techno?”

  
“Heh?”

  
“Could you audition for my musical?” Wilbur grinned, a gleam in his eyes.

“Heh?” Techno dropped his book. “What?!”

  
“Come on! It’d be so much fun,” Wilbur jumped up from the chair and threw an arm on Techno’s shoulders. Despite being younger than Techno, Wilbur’s height allowed him to easily assert himself.

  
“Are you kidding me? What about me makes you think that I’d ever want to audition for a musical?” Techno shoved Wilbur’s arm off his shoulder and picked up his book from the floor. “You’re such a nerd…”

  
“Uh huh. We all are,” Wilbur said, crossing his arms. He followed Techno into the hallway and back down the stairs. “Come on, man! You’d be awesome in one! I even wrote one of the roles for you! You’d be perfect!”

  
“You wrote a role--” Techno laughed mirthlessly. “This is terrible. Nope! There’s no way that I’m auditioning for a musical. All that dancing, and singing, and...memorizing…It just sounds like a bad time. And in front of a crowd!” He entered the kitchen and opened the fridge, reaching for a snack. Wilbur followed.

  
“It would be fun! We’d memorize lines together! It’d be some really good brother bonding, you know?”

  
Techno rolled his eyes as he pulled out a clementine.

  
“And besides, you’re really good at singing. Even better than me! Remember? There was that one parody that you made--”

  
“Bruuuuuh.” Techno glared at Wilbur as he peeled his clementine. “We don’t speak of that thing.”

  
Wilbur laughed, slightly unsettled by Techno’s gaze. “Fine, fine. But you’re still really good. Come on, just think about it, at least?”

  
“Why do you even want me to audition? There’s at least one other person in the school that’d be willing to audition that’s not me,” Techno grumbled, mouth full with clementine.

  
Wilbur laughed uneasily. “Yeah, about that...my musical has a lot of characters. Like a lot of them? And the theater group...well, let’s just say that there aren’t many of us.”

  
Techno frowned. It was true that the theater club at the high school wasn’t the most notable of the school’s extracurricular activities.

  
“Well, good luck finding guys,” Techno said. He threw the peels in the trashcan and walked toward the stairs. “Because I’m definitely not doing it!”

  
“Technoooooo, please! I’m begging you! I’ll do anything!” Wilbur grabbed Techno’s arm. Techno began wrestling with Wilbur, trying to escape.

  
“Stop following me, guitar boy--”

  
The door swung open with a jingle, and Techno and Wilbur both looked at the entrance.

  
“Hey, guys!” The youngest brother waved at Techno and Wilbur. Next to him was his friend.

“Hey, Tommy. Hey, Tubbo,” Techno and Wilbur said in unison. Tommy and Tubbo both threw their backpacks next to Wilbur’s near the couch.

  
“So, big men, what’s going on here, eh?” Tommy said, walking up to Wilbur and Techno. “Practicing for the wrestling tournament?” Tommy laughed at his own joke, flashing silver braces.

  
“Nice pants, Techno,” Tubbo interjected. Everyone looked at Techno’s pajama pants, patterned with potatoes.  
“Thanks.” Techno nodded, completely serious.

  
“Tommy! Tommy, thank goodness you’re here,” Wilbur said, releasing Techno from his grasp. Techno shook his head at Tommy. Wilbur placed an arm on Tommy’s shoulder. He lowered his voice. “What would you think...What would you think of auditioning for my original musical?”

  
Tommy screeched with laughter. “What the fuck, Wilbur? Are you serious right now? Your Hamilton fanfic?” Tommy left Wilbur’s shoulder and jumped up on the couch, pantomiming being on a stage. “La, la la laaaaaaa~ I’m Wilbur and I have a stick up my ass~ I want my brother who can’t carry a tune to be in my Hamilton fanfiction musical!”

  
Wilbur frowned. “You’re even better at singing than me, Tommy. Don’t lie. Come on, guys. It’d be so good! It’s a good thing to put on a college application, too, you know,” he directed at Techno. Techno rolled his eyes.

  
“Musical?” Tubbo asked, tilting his head. His eyes were full of questions.

  
“Oh, yeah, big man,” Tommy got down from the couch. “Wilbur over here’s been working on a musical for years now. Did it get approved or something?” he asked Wilbur.

  
“Yup,” Wilbur said, smirking. His brothers’ teasing didn’t deter him from the joy of that fact.

  
“Wow, that’s pretty incredible!” Tubbo said. “You know, I’ve always liked singing,” he said, beaming. “When’s the audition?”

  
“You’ll audition, Tubbo?” Wilbur asked, his eyes widening in antipication.

  
“I mean, sure! Why not?” He looked at Tommy. “We’re freshmen, we have all of high school ahead of us. Why not have some fun with it?”

  
Tommy laughed in disbelief. “I can’t believe it. My best friend wants to be in my brother’s musical!” He shared a look with Techno, who shrugged.

  
“What’s the musical about, Wilbur?” Tubbo asked. He went to the fridge and grabbed a few clementines, tossing one to Tommy.

  
“I’m glad you asked, Tubbo,” Wilbur said. He cleared his throat.

  
“Oh, boy, here we go,” Techno groaned.

  
“It’s a story of a group of young men who want to create a new country of their own after being subjected to a tyrannical leader…”

  
“Wow, this is a Hamilton fanfic, huh?” Tubbo interjected. He popped a clementine slice in his mouth.

  
“And after many hardships and betrayals, they end up being able to make that new country...but here’s the twist…” Tubbo leaned forward, eyes wide. Wilbur grinned. “During the first election, another tyrannical ruler basically takes his place as the leader of the new country…that’s the end of Act 1, by the way.”

  
“No!” Tubbo gasped.

  
“Those who had fought for the revolution were betrayed, banished...and the leader of the revolution realizes that the country was no longer what he had stood and fought for…”

  
“Teaming up with an anarchist, they decide to fight against the tyrannical leader for the fight of their lives to get their country back…”

  
Tubbo was hooked. “And? What happens next?”

  
“You’ll have to audition to find out,” Wilbur said. Tubbo laughed.

  
“Dang, now I’ll have to audition!” Tubbo said, looking at Tommy. Tommy was glaring at Wilbur.

  
“What do you mean, I can sing, Wilbur?” Tommy asked. “You mean like this?” He started singing gutturally, gravelly with an unsteady tune staring at Wilbur. Wilbur rolled his eyes.

  
Tubbo tapped Tommy on the shoulder, making Tommy pause. “Come on, Tommy--it’ll be fun! It’s not like we do much after school anyway. What do we do? Play more Minecraft?”

  
“Hey! Playing Minecraft is a perfectly good way to spend time!” Tommy began protesting. Tubbo raised his eyebrows at him. Tommy scrunched up his face.

  
“Fine! I’ll audition with you,” Tommy said. He looked at Wilbur. “I can’t wait to mess with you as much as I can.”

  
Wilbur shrugged. “It’ll be worth it.” He patted Tubbo on the back. “Way to go, Tubbo! I’m excited to see what you bring to the audition!”

  
Tubbo beamed. “It seems like a lot of fun!”

  
Slowly, everyone turned towards Techno, who was standing next to the kitchen. He realized what was happening.

  
“Nope!” he exclaimed. He rushed for the stairs, but Wilbur was faster, blocking the path. Tommy and Tubbo stood up from the couch.

  
“Come on, big man...if Wilbur’s roped me in, then you have to come with me!” Tommy started, grinning wildly. Techno started shaking his head.

  
“No, no, no. Nooooo way…”

  
Just as Tommy and Tubbo were closing in on Techno, everyone heard a bedroom door swing open.

  
“Hello, boys!” Tommy’s, Wilbur’s and Techno’s father walked past them into the kitchen. “How was school?”

  
“Hey, Phil,” Techno said. His shoulders relaxed. “School was fine. How was the stream?”

  
“It went well! We peaked at 12,000 viewers today--it was a fun stream!” He began filling a kettle with water to make tea.

  
“Wow, nice.” Techno nodded.

  
“Dad, I got my musical approved by the principal!” Wilbur exclaimed.

  
“Wow! The L’Manburg one?” Phil asked. Wilbur nodded quickly. “That’s awesome! Congrats, Wil.”

  
“Tommy and I are going to audition for it!” Tubbo said.

  
“Is that so? I think that’s a splendid idea,” Phil said, nodding at Tommy. “Finally growing out of your shell in the singing department?” He laughed when he saw Tommy’s frown. “I think it’ll be good for you, Tommy. Spirits up.” He placed the kettle on the stove.

  
“One problem...Technoooo...doesn’t want to audition!” Wilbur pouted, glaring at Techno.

  
“Why not?” Philza looked up from the stove. Techno fidgeted with the pages of his book.

  
“I think it’s a wonderful idea that everyone auditions for Wil’s musical! You’d be great, Techno! You don’t have a bad voice yourself,” Phil said. Everyone looked at Techno.

  
“...Fine. I’ll audition. But only because Phil wants me to,” Techno finally spoke.

  
“Let’s go!!” Wilbur pumped the air with his fist. “Thanks, Dad.”

  
Phil grinned. “Anytime.”

  
Tommy rolled his eyes. “Come on, Tubbo, let’s go to my room,” he said, waving his friend over to the stairs. Tubbo waved at Phil.

  
“Nice to see you, Mr. Minecraft!” he said. Phil laughed. The two freshmen left.

  
Techno groaned, sitting in a chair at the counter. “This is gonna end in disaster.”

  
“Or...it could end in the greatest musical of all time!” Wilbur exclaimed, sitting next to him.

  
“Either way, it’ll be fun,” Phil said, reaching over and tousling both of his sons’ hair. The kettle started whistling. “Do either of you want tea?”

  
They both nodded. Techno opened his book. Wilbur sat back, still exhilarated.

And so, the search for people to audition for the musical began.


	2. The Recruiting, pt. 2

The next morning, Wilbur came to school early. After the meeting with the principal (which the theater teacher had also attended), he had asked the theater teacher, Mr. Major, if he could arrange a meeting with the stage crew about the musical. Mr. Major made it in the morning before school, which Wilbur wasn’t too pleased about, but he’d accept any opportunity to work on the musical. 

The hallways of the school echoed as Wilbur walked towards the theater, his shoes squeaking against the waxed linoleum floor. He yawned. He had stayed awake all night thinking of the possibilities regarding his musical, but he was starting to regret that choice, seeing as how dark his circles under his eyes stood out this morning. Tommy had called him a raccoon while they ate breakfast. Wilbur had scoffed. As if Tommy, staying up until three in the morning every night playing video games and screaming so loud that he kept everyone up, could say anything. Even so, Wilbur had a sudden desire for foundation in his skin tone. 

The high school Wilbur and everyone else attended was pretty large--there was almost an endless amount of different cliques and projects happening in the school at one time. The hallways were usually filled with people shouting about their respective projects, clubs, boasting about their good scores. It was a competitive school. To get people involved in the musical, to be invested...it was a paramount task. Although Wilbur was relatively friendly with a lot of circles, his brow still scrunched up thinking about how he would be able to invite people to watch the musical--much less recruit people to be part of it. Come to think of it, who was in the crew that Mr. Major had recruited? Wilbur knew some people in the stage crew, but never was too acquainted with them except for a few, like Skeppy and Liam. He frowned. Hopefully everyone in the stage crew was invented enough already without even seeing the musical. 

Deep in thought, Wilbur arrived at the theater. There were a few people already on the stage, surrounding a piano playing Heart and Soul. Classic time-passing song. One person pointed at Wilbur as he walked down an aisle. 

“Finally! Get over here!” one of them shouted. The music stopped. 

“Sorry I’m late, guys,” Wilbur said, climbing up on the stage. 

“The man himself--makes the musical but comes late to his own planning session,” Liam, one of the stagecraft leaders, said. 

“How’ve you been, HBomb?” Wilbur replied. Liam smirked. 

“Surprised that you remember my nickname.”

“How could I forget?” Wilbur grinned. He looked at the rest of the people on the stage. “Can we introduce ourselves? I’m Wilbur Soot. I wrote the musical and I plan to direct it.” he felt his chest rise with pride when he said those words. 

“Uh, I’m Sam,” said the person next to Liam. He towered above everyone else--it was rare for Wilbur to see anyone taller than him. “I work in stagecraft.” 

“I’m Noah!” Noah waved, smiling widely. “I’m a freshman, but I’m also part of the stagecraft crew.” He wore a shirt with a shark on it. 

“I like your shirt!” Wilbur said, grinning. Noah smiled. 

“Hey, Wilbur, what’s up?” someone chimed behind Wilbur. Wilbur turned around. 

“Not much, Skeppy, what’s up with you?” he answered. Skeppy, also known as Zak, gave Wilbur a hefty pat on the back. He scanned the faces and grinned. “Sorry I’m late, guys. I work sound and lighting, if you didn’t know already.” 

The girl sitting at the piano stood up. She seemed unfamiliar to Wilbur. He had seen everyone else in the group around, but this girl… 

She was wearing a black cap, with curly red hair that was stuffed into it. Strands of her hair fell into her eyes, which gave Wilbur a quizzical look. 

“My name’s Sally,” she said, pursing her lips. “I volunteered to lead the pit and the music for this musical.” Wilbur looked at her. She was shorter than everyone there, but everyone appeared to stand back, as if she took up the most space on the stage. She was wearing overalls with rips in the legs. A spray of freckles fell across her nose. And her eyes…

Wilbur cleared his throat, bringing himself back to focus. “Great! Well, since everyone’s here, I guess we can get started.” He put down his bag and pulled out several thick packets: the script and lyrics for the musical, as well as a synopsis in the beginning. He handed them out to everyone, and the stage was quiet except for the flipping of pages. Wilbur swallowed dryly.

Sam whistled. “This is dramatic.” 

“Yeah…” Wilbur laughed sheepishly. “What do you think?”

“I like it! It’s fresh, it’s cool,” Noah said, skimming through the pages. “There’s a lot of potential for cool sets here.” He looked at Sam and Liam, who were both poring over the packet. “Like the fireworks? That’s kinda awesome.” 

“I was thinking of some kind of use of streamers and lights to express that...maybe add some sound effects and lights in the audience too?” Wilbur looked at Skeppy, who was dog-earing certain pages. 

“Yeah! Yeah, totally! This is kind of a long musical, but I think it could turn out really cool! Could I have another copy for my friend Bad? He works on sound and lighting too.” 

“Bad?” 

“Darryl. We’re all in English together, remember?” Skeppy said, hand outstretched. Wilbur nodded in understanding and handed another packet to Skeppy. He had forgotten that Darryl responded to the name Bad. 

Noah, Liam and Sam had pulled out a notebook and were discussing set ideas, all huddled together. Wilbur felt his confidence grow. 

“Are you serious?” 

Wilbur had forgotten about Sally. He turned around. Sally had flipped to the songs section. “What’s wrong…?” Wilbur began. 

“Why are there only guitar chords? Are you telling me that all you’ve done with the songs...is make chords for them?” Sally muttered. Wilbur suddenly felt scared. 

“I mean...I know the melodies in my head?” Wilbur said. Sally scoffed. 

“Are you serious...the principal really approved a musical with no--when are we supposed to be premiering this thing?” she waved the packet around. 

“Uh...by the end of the semester?” 

Sally hung her head and groaned. “So...are you saying that I have to arrange...all of the pit’s music...all of the actors’ music...as soon as possible?  _ Without even knowing the melody lines? _ ” 

Wilbur bit his lip. He didn’t think about that. 

“Good morning, everyone! How’s the meeting been going?” someone called out from the audience with a lilting, sing-song accent. Everyone turned. Mr. Major, who ran everything that had to do with the theater, was jogging down the aisle. A pleasant man, he was known by the school as one of the cool teachers--one of the types that actually cared about their students. He was with the principal when Wilbur pitched the musical, and he recruited the crew and called them to a meeting after Wilbur had asked him to arrange the meeting. 

“Hi Mr. Major!” Skeppy shouted. Everyone else waved. Major arrived at the stage, standing next to Wilbur.

“So! How’s the meeting been going?” Mr. Major looked at Wilbur. “I love the screenplay, by the way. I read through it last night--It’s splendid. A few tweaks to some lines and some plot changes, and I think it could turn out to be excellent!” 

“Thanks, Mr. Major,” Wilbur said. He was blushing. Mr. Major clapped his hands together. 

“So! What’s the plan, everyone? Wait--where’s Cara?” Mr. Major asked. 

“Uh...she said she had a test to retake this morning, I think. She texted me about it,” Sam said. “She’ll make it to the next meeting, though.” Cara was the costume designer. Wilbur was surprised to not see her during the introductions. 

“That’s completely fine! Anyway! I have a calendar here so we can plan out the production. What are we aiming for?” Mr. Major pulled out a planner. “For starters, opening night. When do we want that?”

“Well, it’s September...so near the end of the first semester?” Sam offered. 

“But we can’t have it in finals week. No way,” Skeppy said. 

“Surprising that you would say that, Skep,” Liam said, leaning an elbow on Skeppy’s shoulder. “Didn’t you oversleep and be late for the Chem final last year?” He chuckled. Skeppy shifted, but he was still grinning. 

“To be fair, it was only because I was staying up late studying for that test.”

“Suuuure,” Liam said.

“I’m just saying that no one’s gonna want to watch or star in a musical in finals week. And Bad would never sign on to rehearsing during finals week,” Skeppy said. 

“We obviously would never make our students perform and test in the same week,” Mr. Major said. 

“So...what about two weeks before that? First and second weekend of December?” Noah offered. 

“I think that could work…” Sam said. 

“It’d be a week before finals start...so I think that’s enough for everyone to start cramming, right?” Liam said, grinning.

“That’s when I usually start,” Wilbur answered. Everyone looked at Mr. Major, who was jotting notes down. 

“Alright, so we’ll settle for the first and second weekends of December,” Mr. Major said. “That gives us...about eleven weeks.” 

Wilbur crossed his arms. “So subtract off one week for dress rehearsal week…”

“Give us planning for a week or two…” Skeppy said, chewing his thumbnail. 

“Arrange for three weeks, with the first week being the cast’s books,” Sally muttered. 

“That leaves us with about seven weeks for rehearsal and set-building,” Wilbur finished. Mr. Major nodded and wrote dates into his planner. 

“The set preferably finished at the seven or eight-week mark?” Noah said. Sam shrugged. 

“Set building always turns last minute for some reason,” he said. “But it’s nice to aim early.” 

“Why’s that?”

“Never enough volunteers,” Liam and Sam grumbled in unison. Mr. Major frowned, remembering the dismal set pieces for last year’s plays and musical. 

“I’ll try to help you out for that one,” Mr. Major said. He jotted down more notes. “Alright, I’ll send this schedule over to the principal. We’ll do the audition and callbacks in two weeks. Before then, the crinkles in the script should be ironed out and we should have outlines for the set designs and lighting choices. Is that settled?”

“No, it’s not settled, Mr. Major,” Sally interjected. Everyone looked at her. “How in the world am I supposed to arrange...everything...in two or three weeks, without even a smidge of knowledge on how the entire musical sounds? Frankly, I’m disappointed you and the principal even approved something like this, Mr. Major.” She glared at Wilbur, who suddenly noticed that her eyes were a dirty green, almost sage. He also felt a pang of guilt. 

“Hm, that is an issue, isn’t it?” Mr. Major said, scratching his head. “You could always recruit others in the band to help you out, or the band director…”

“And I’ll stay to help! For the melody lines and anything more. Maybe...after school today?” Wilbur offered. 

Sally tightened her cap on her head. “Fine. These songs better be fire, though.” She crossed her arms and sat back down at the piano. Wilbur exhaled. That girl was a little scary. 

The morning bell trilled, echoing through the theater. People began collecting their bags, stuffing their packets into it. 

“Great, everything’s settled! We can meet tomorrow afternoon, everyone, to discuss the musical!” Mr. Major said. “I emailed you some notes, Wilbur, so take a look at those when you can.” 

Wilbur shouldered his bag. “Will do.” He jumped off the theater onto the floor. “Thanks, Mr. Major.” 

Mr. Major smiled and waved. “Of course!” He then left the theater hurriedly, needing to go to his classroom--his students would be waiting outside his locked door. 

Sally was the last to leave. Instead of leaving immediately, she sat at the piano, and played the chords of the first song one at a time, the pleasant sounds reverberating around the empty theater. 


	3. The Recruiting, pt. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wilbur has to work on a school project and meet with Sally after school to work on the musical.

In the middle of the morning, in history class, Wilbur got an email from Mr. Major. _The audition is approved for being in two weeks, the Wednesday after next! Callbacks will be the day after. Make sure you advertise it well! You should fix the script with the notes that I emailed after this one and send it to me by next week!_

How could he focus on the workings of Ancient Grecian society after receiving that message? Wilbur promptly emailed his brothers and Tubbo that the audition was the Wednesday after next after school. The replies arrived shortly: 

_Thanks!_ \--Tubbo

 _Wait, this is actually happening? Fuck --_ Tommy

 _You know I could tell Mr. Austin right now that you’re not paying attention --_ Techno

Wilbur turned around in his chair to glare at Techno, sitting in the back of the classroom. 

_You’re one to talk_ \--Wilbur 

Techno flashed a grin at Wilbur. Wilbur rolled his eyes and turned back around. He opened the notes that Mr. Major had sent:

  * The father that kills the main character comes out of nowhere--maybe make him a callback? 
  * What’s the purpose of having goons for the 2nd tyrant? 
  * Why does the main character first start out as a dictator and then agree to a democracy? That could be cut to make the process smoother
  * I don’t see enough about how the 1st tyrant is bad 
  * I feel like we need lighter moments to balance out the darkness
  * How does the anarchist relate to all of this? He seems to appear as if out of nowhere--why does he show up?
  * What kind of moral/theme are you going for here? 
  * The anarchist appears to “betray” the group out of nowhere since he doesn’t kill the 2nd friend during the Festival 
  * What is the arc that the first friend goes through throughout the story? 
  * And goodness, please name the characters you have! 



Wilbur frowned. This was complicated. How was he supposed to change this much in a week? He wasn’t sure how to change it…

“Alright, everyone, so get in groups of four! We’ll randomize the myths that people will be presenting on!” Mr. Austin exclaimed. Wilbur’s head shot up. A group project? 

Per usual, the room filled with shouts across the room and the screeching of chairs. Some kids dashed across the room to their friends, with others hovering around, unsure where to go. Wilbur stood up slowly, clueless to what was going on. He spotted Techno, who hadn’t moved from his seat and was instead fidgeting with his pencil. And he had the audacity to say that Wilbur wasn’t paying attention to class. Wilbur jumped when someone placed an arm around his shoulders. 

“Hey buddy.” 

Wilbur turned his head and was met with a New York baseball cap. 

“Schlatt.” Wilbur grinned. 

“Can I just say you look wonderful today, Wilbur? This new look with the rolled up sleeves...immaculate,” Schlatt said lowly, leaning into Wilbur’s ear.

Wilbur nodded, unfazed. “You look wonderful as well, Schlatt. Your Obama sweaters are always a depthful social commentary that I just can’t help being swayed by,” he said softly. 

They gazed into each other’s eyes for a tender moment, before simultaneously bursting into laughter. 

“I’m assuming you know more about this damn assignment than I do,” Schlatt sighed, scratching his face. His mischievous eyes glinted as he looked up at Wilbur. “What do you say that you and I...team up? Just like old times.” 

Wilbur laughed at the memory of the two of them flooding the 1st floor bathroom in sophomore year. Wilbur had gotten all the blame and trouble, but he was over it. “I don’t know much about the assignment either, I’ll be honest. But I’m down to work together,” he said. 

“Awesome.” Schlatt took Wilbur’s seat and put his feet on the desk. “Who else should be in our group?”

“Wilbur! Can I be in your group?” A voice piped up. Wilbur recognized the soft sing-song lilt. 

“Nikki!” Wilbur turned around and gave Nikki a hug. “It’s been a while! Where’ve you been?”

“I was visiting some family in Germany! I’m back now, though!” she said, smiling. “I’m glad to be back.” 

Nikki was one of Wilbur’s theater friends. Although shy in class, she really shone in her roles on stage. It was a shame no one really saw her performances because the theater club was so small. 

“I have so much to tell you, Nikki--we’re going to be performing the musical I wrote!” 

“Wait, really? That’s so exciting! When is the audition?”

“It should be next Wednesday after school,” Wilbur said. 

“I’ll put it in my planner,” Nikki said, nodding. 

“Hey, pals!” Schlatt yelled. “What’s this stuff about a musical?” 

“Oh, Wilbur and Nikki!” Wilbur and Nikki jumped. The teacher, Mr. Austin, was peering over them. “Do you all have a group of four yet?” 

“Uh…Schlatt is with us,” Wilbur said. 

“And for a fourth?” Mr. Austin scanned the room. “Dave! Why don’t you come and join this group?”

“Huh?” Techno looked up. “Oh, okay.” Techno shuffled over to the group. “It’s Techno, by the way, Mr. Austin.” 

“Oh, I forgot! Sorry, Techno,” Mr. Austin said. He ruffled through the papers he was holding and gave four to Wilbur. “You all will be presenting on the myth of Theseus. Have fun! And no flirting, you two,” Mr. Austin winked at Wilbur and Nikki. He moved on to the next group.

“I swear that man has a matchmaker complex,” Schlatt grumbled. “You know how many times he’s put me in a group with Minx already? Thank god we get to choose our groups this time.” Schlatt stuck his tongue out at Minx, in a group on the other side of the classroom. She noticed and flipped him off, her large eyes smoldering.

“Anyway…” Wilbur handed out the papers and set his own aside. “Schlatt, you were asking what the musical was?” He had a sly grin on his face. 

“I feel left out of the conversation,” Schlatt said, shrugging. 

“Believe me, you want to be left out of this one,” Techno said flatly. He pulled out his laptop and began making a slideshow. 

“I’m making a musical, Jonathan Schlatt...and I would like you to audition for me,” Wilbur said. 

“Audition? Alright, count me out.” Schlatt looked at Techno. “You were right, man. I shouldn’t have asked.” 

“It’ll be really fun, Schlatt. I know that you like acting. Don’t lie. And...we’d get to spend more time together,” Wilbur locked eyes with Schlatt, reigniting the not-so-sexual sexual tension. 

“Is that so?”

“Absolutely. I’d love to spend more time with you, Schlatt,” Wilbur said. Nikki covered her smile with her hand. Techno rolled his eyes. Wilbur knew Schlatt was too committed to the bit. He wouldn’t turn it down.

“Maybe I’ll check it out,” Schlatt dared. 

“Maybe you will.” 

“Just to see you more often,” he whispered. He took his soda can and drank it, not breaking eye contact. 

“Exactly.” Wilbur clapped. “And there’s a role that’s perfect for you, Schlatt. A drunken, power-hungry tyrant. That’s up your alley, isn’t it?”

Schlatt lit up. “Hey, that sounds like fun. But hey! I’m not doing it for fun. I’m doing it for you, alright?” He pointed at Wilbur. 

Wilbur grinned. Another one in. 

“I’m so happy! Eret and Kara are going to have a hoot in designing a costume for Schlatt,” Nikki smiled. 

Schlatt pulled out his laptop out of his bag. “Aaaaand I regret this already.”

“You never fail to drag everyone in, don’t you?” Techno said to Wilbur. 

“He got you in too?” Schlatt interjected.

“It’s all part of the plan,” Wilbur said. 

Techno closed his laptop. “Well, I made the slideshow and shared it to everyone. That seems like enough work for now.” 

“Did you fill all the information out already?” Nikki asked. 

“No,” Techno said. “Who do you think I am, a non-procrastinator?” 

“Oh!” Nikki giggled and opened her laptop. “I guess we’ll have to get started.”

“Better a procrastinator than someone who doesn’t do any work,” Schlatt said, pointing at himself. “Actually, I’ll point at Wilbur too,” he said, pointing his other hand at Wilbur. Wilbur rolled his eyes. 

“Sorry, Nikki, you’re stuck with us,” Wilbur sighed. “Making the lady work? What is wrong with all of us?”

Schlatt shrugged and took another swing from his soda can. 

“Is that soda in my classroom, Mr. Schlatt? Throw that away right now!” Mr. Austin yelled over the noise. 

Schlatt groaned as he threw his half-full can away. 

After school, in the theater…

“Sally, was it?” Wilbur arrived at the theater after school, discovering that Sally was already there, poring over the packet. Wilbur was late, having to grab a guitar from the band room before getting to the theater. 

“Wilbur, was it?” she imitated, standing up from the piano bench. “Yes, you’re correct.” 

Wilbur looked over Sally again. Her hair wasn’t tucked into her cap anymore, and it fell in cascades down her back. She was spinning a pencil. 

“Alright, so let’s get started,” Sally said. She patted the piano bench she was sitting on, indicating that she wanted him to sit down next to her. 

Wilbur slowly sat down. “I’m sorry, by the way, for giving you so much more work--”

“It’s fine. I was overreacting for dramatic effect,” Sally said. She winked at him. “I don’t really mind--It’s what I want to do for a living anyway.” 

“You want to transcribe and arrange music?”

“A composer, yeah,” Sally said, flipping the packet. “It’s why I signed up for the musical in the first place.”

“Huh.” Wilbur had wanted to work with music too, but he wasn’t confident enough in his skill to set his mind on it. He didn’t know what to think of Sally. She was intimidating. 

“Anyway! Tell me about the intro song,” Sally said. She pointed at the lyrics. “This story is kind of insane, by the way. It’s...really cool.” 

“Ah, thanks,” Wilbur said sheepishly. “There’s a lot of work to do on it, but I’m glad to hear it.” He leaned back and grabbed the neck of the guitar. He quickly tuned the strings, and his face felt hot from Sally staring at him. 

“Uh, the first song is just setting up the world that the story is in,” Wilbur said. “And the characters, and all.”

Sally whistled. “I figured, but it’s a pretty important song then.” Sally set the packet on the piano stand. Wilbur took a breath. 

_Oh, did you know, have you heard,_

_Of the tale of the country called L’Manburg?_

_It’s a story of triumph, a story of woe,_

_The tragedy of a country called L’Manburg._

_A group of men, boys at best,_

_Sought lib’ration from the tyranny of their rulers._

_Each of them had their specified want_

_To create their own country of L’Manburg._

_A young boy named _____, a child of fire_

_His possessions were taken by the leader._

_To earn his right back, he sought the desire_

_To create a country with his comrades._

_His comrade ______, looking for fun_

_Tied into the fight by forces unknown_

_Stand with your friends, die with your friends_

_All for the sake of L’Manburg._

_A royal man ___, a figure of honor_

_Needed power more than the leaders could offer._

_Join in the fight, raise the flag_

_Of freedom, of the country called L’Manburg._

_A young girl, _____, seeking peace_

_From the terrors she saw from the leaders unseen_

_Live in peace, free from chaos_

_Joined in the fight for L’Manburg._

_And the leader, ______, the master of all_

_Protecting his child from the darkness that loomed._

_Save your child, create a symphony_

_A symphony of a country called L’Manburg._

_This band of comrades, an unbreakable bond_

_Against the world, against the storm_

_Against the tyranny of ____ and his power_

_To fight for a land called L’Manburg._

_They each have three chances, and one by one_

_The deaths they endure, their hope dusted, gone_

_Unless you fight more, for the symphony_

_The liberation of the country called L’Manburg._

_Oh, did you know, have you heard,_

_Of the tale of the country called L’Manburg?_

_It’s a story of triumph, a story of woe,_

_The tragedy of a country called L’Manburg._

Wilbur stopped singing, and looked at Sally sheepishly. “Uh, I didn’t warm up my voice or anything, but--”

Sally’s brow was furrowed, deep in thought. “It’s a lot more folk-y than I thought… patriotic vibes?” 

Wilbur nodded, but keeping the fact that the story started out as a Hamilton fanfiction to himself. 

“So, violins, then. Snares, flutes, we can arrange it to be really patriotic-sounding...but the content of the lyrics are really kinda sad? Oh, and when you introduce each character there could be a motif for each one…” Sally muttered under her breath. The pencil she was spinning was now scribbling over the packet in frenzied letters and notes. Wilbur was amazed at the speed that she wrote. 

“Could you sing the song again? I’ll record it this time,” Sally said, pulling out an old but pristine phone. Wilbur was frozen in disbelief. “Uh, Wilbur? You alright there?” 

“Uh, yeah,” Wilbur said, blinking quickly. “Sorry, I just didn’t realize how…” 

“Fast I am about this?” Sally looked at Wilbur, a gleam in her eyes. “This is what I live for, Wilbur. And if I’m not fast about it, well...that’d be an issue with the speed of the arrangement, wouldn’t it?” 

Where did she come from? And why wasn’t she part of the music program before? If she was, Wilbur or Techno would have definitely known her. Wilbur thought back to the painstakingly slow transcriptions and arrangements that used to accompany musicals in order to accommodate for peoples’ vocal ranges and the skill of the musicians...This was going to be a breeze. 

“Of course,” Wilbur said, and he cleared his throat to sing the song again. “That’s really amazing, though,” he muttered before he began singing again. 

As he sang, he saw Sally scribbling more down, with Wilbur spotting reharmonizations, flairs, and lists of instruments and rhythms on the paper. Who was this girl?

“Thanks,” Sally said, stopping the recording on her phone. “Real quick, I can change the melodies and progressions, right? It’ll definitely be really similar, just small changes,” she said, eyes bright. 

“Uh, absolutely. Go for it...It looks like you’re a lot more qualified for this stuff anyway,” Wilbur said in awe. “I have a question as well.”

“Hm?”

“Where did you come from?” 

Sally’s pencil stopped moving and she laughed. “Now you ask me?” She stretched her shoulders. “I’m new this year. I’m here from the Oasis Academy of the Arts.” 

Wilbur’s jaw dropped. “You mean the top music high school in the country? Why’d you leave?”

Sally’s shoulders slumped. “Eh. It’s not important. But go Salmons,” she said halfheartedly, raising a fist. Wilbur decided not to push for more information. 

“Wait wait wait. So...not only are you from the top music high school in the country, and not only did you move here, of all high schools...but your mascot used to be a _salmon?_ ” Wilbur exclaimed. Sally laughed. 

“Yup! That’s the reason why I left--I just didn’t want my mascot to be a salmon anymore. I don’t even like fish,” she said. 

“Well, no wonder you left the school! Who’d want to be a salmon?” Wilbur cracked. “Silly bastards don’t even realize that swimming upstream...is just counterintuitive!” 

“Totally!” Sally said, grinning. Wilbur was grinning too. They looked into each other’s eyes. Sally’s eyes were a striking, hazel-green. Surprisingly enough, it looked like the color of salmon. 

They broke eye contact, suddenly aware of the silence. 

“Um, anyway, I wanted to ask why all the names are not inserted,” Sally said after clearing her throat. 

“Oh, that. I just...I just don’t know what to name my characters. None of the names that I thought of seemed to fit. You can see that some are two syllables and some are one and all, but nothing just seems to fit,” Wilbur said. 

Sally pursed her lips. “Let’s make the first guy...Kyle.”

“What? No! That sounds terrible!” Wilbur said in shock. Sally snorted. 

“Yeah, you’re right. I can’t think of any names that would fit very well. We’ll just keep those blank for now,” Sally said. She placed her pencil back on the paper. “Well, shall we move on to the next song?” 

Wilbur grinned as he flipped his own packet to the next song. “Let’s do it.”

They proceeded to work until Sally had to leave for the bus in time for dinnertime. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Sorry this update was a little late, but I hope the two mini-stories make up for it.


End file.
